Cuomo goes after de Blasio’s math on MTA budget gap

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Mayor Bill de Blasio’s math on funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority doesn’t add up.

“New York City uses [the MTA] 100 percent,” Cuomo said on WNYC Tuesday morning. “Why are you only paying 75 percent?”

On Friday, the mayor repeated the city’s argument on WNYC that the city pays for three-quarters of the transit agency’s budget not just through tax money but also fares and tolls.

“I am putting my money where my mouth is — $8 billion,” Cuomo said. “My $8 billion — that comes from people in Buffalo and Rochester and Albany, and they want to help out New York City.”

When host Brian Lehrer pointed out to the governor that the state-operated transit system benefits many outside the five boroughs, Cuomo said he’s asking the city to give an amount proportionate to allocations by previous administrations — about 11 percent of the MTA’s capital budget. The mayor’s office argued the number is closer to 7 percent.

At about $32 billion, however, Cuomo admitted the current plan is the largest in history. Without additional funding, a recent report said straphangers stand to suffer from the agency’s $9.8 billion shortfall through either deteriorating service or fare hikes.

“The city has to do its fair share,” the governor said. “I can’t say to Buffalo, ‘You should fund the New York City’s subway system,’ and New York City is sitting there with $7 billion in surplus funds isn’t doing its fair share.”

Cuomo never referred to de Blasio by name, only as “the mayor.”

City Hall has long argued that the surplus state officials point to does not exist and is actually a balanced budget.

“New Yorkers are tired of the bickering and politics,” de Blasio spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said in a statement to reporters.

“It’s past time for the state to get real,” she added. “Tell New Yorkers where your money is coming from; stop stealing money from the transit system; and ensure the people of NYC have a greater say how money is spent.